Email deliverability rate shows the number of emails that land in the subscriber’s inbox instead of landing in the spam folder or, worse, bouncing back. Higher the email deliverability rate of the brand, the better its conversion rate and overall marketing ROI. Reports suggest that the average email delivery rate should be around 80%. However, improving the deliverability rate of your emails is not as easy as it sounds. Creating an attractive and optimized email template is the first step toward improving the deliverability rate. You can achieve this feat by using Adobe email templates. After that, you have to follow the best practices mentioned below to improve your email deliverability rate.
Best practices to improve the deliverability rate of your emails.
- Maintain a hygienic email list
Over the past few years, ISPs have updated their spam filters to focus on user engagement with the emails. These interactions dictate whether the email should land in their spam folders or inbox. It means if your email has a higher bounce rate or subscribers are marking more of your emails as spam, the ISP will automatically hamper your marketing efforts. Similarly, if you are continuously sending emails to inactive accounts, you will notice an increase in bounce rate. And, as mentioned earlier, a higher bounce rate will affect your sender’s reputation and affect your deliverability rate.
Experienced email marketers also advise against buying email lists from third-party vendors as these lists contain inactive accounts, incorrect email addresses, and unwilling recipients who will not hesitate to mark your emails as spam. To avoid these problems, regularly clean your mailing list and update it periodically. Use segmentation strategies to identify the accounts that have gone cold or have become inactive. Then, remove these accounts to maintain the hygiene of your email list.
- Use the double opt-in for new subscribers.
For start-ups and newer brands, a single opt-in for the new subscribers might be tempting. It increases the inflow of new subscribers and helps you build a massive emailing list. However, it can hurt your long-term deliverability rate as spam complaints also increase. Hence, to decrease the likelihood of this happening, you should adopt a double opt-in system.
A double opt-in system sends a second confirmation email to the subscribers to ensure that they do want to receive emails from your brand. Since these subscribers are willing to interact with your brand, you will see lower bounce rates and higher open rates. In addition to that, double opt-ins generate higher-quality leads and lower the unsubscriber rate. There is no denying that this process will grow your email list much slower than the single opt-in. But, the list you create with this system is guaranteed to improve the deliverability rates of your emails.
Lunch Money sends a second confirmation email to their new subscribers to ensure that they have got the correct email address. The email has a simple layout and a green CTA button that contrasts well with the background color. Double opt-in emails can be automated to make things easier for email marketers. You, too, can create such emails using Adobe email templates.
- Manage your subscriber’s expectations
Overpromising and under-delivering will send your emails straight to the spam folder. Managing your email recipient’s expectations lies at the heart of email deliverability. You should let the prospect know what they should be expecting at every step of the way. During the sign-up phase, you should mention the frequency of your emails and what type of content you will include in your newsletters. Next, you should use the subject line of your emails to set the right expectations for that particular email. Lastly, you should have an easy opt-out process and link to manage the frequency of your emails.
Using sensational and click-bait subject lines will only ruin your brand’s reputation with your ISP. Asking for consent before adding subscribers to your emailing list goes a long way to improve the overall deliverability rate of your email. You can also use segmentation tactics to ensure that you are sending relevant emails to your subscribers to maximize your engagement rate. If the subscriber still does not engage with your emails, it is better to remove them from the email list to maintain your sender’s reputation.
- Authenticate your mails with email authentication protocols
Email marketers can increase their email deliverability rates by verifying their templates with all the necessary email authentication protocols like DKIM, DMARC, SPF, and BIMI. All these authentications directly affect the deliverability rate of your marketing campaign. SPF email protocol prevents spammers from accessing your domain. It does so by comparing the sender’s IP address with a list of authorized addresses. Similarly, DKIM uses public-key encryption to ensure that no changes are made to the messages during the transmission process.
DMARC utilizes the framework of both SPF and DKIM to authenticate the emails and prevent spam or phishing attacks. Additionally, it blocks fraudulent messages sent from suspicious domains. BIMI is the only recipient facing email authentication protocol. BIMI verified emails display the brand’s logo alongside the subject lines in the subscriber’s inbox. Currently, only a few email service providers are using BIMI, but it is slowly getting traction and should soon become as relevant as the other three protocol frameworks.
Conclusion
As you know, email deliverability is all about ensuring that your emails reach your subscriber’s inbox. Following the proper email authentication protocols and other best practices mentioned above is sure to boost the deliverability rate of your email campaigns.
Author: Kevin George is the head of marketing at Email Uplers, that specializes in crafting Professional Email Templates, PSD to Email conversion, and Mailchimp Templates. Kevin loves gadgets, bikes & jazz, and he breathes email marketing. He enjoys sharing his insights and thoughts on email marketing best practices on email marketing blog.
